Oleksandr Usyk posted a message on social media today to “chubby” Tyson Fury, encouraging him to work on his fitness by running to prepare for their rematch in three months on December 21st in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Fury looked poorly conditioned for their first fight on May 18th. He was carrying too much weight around his midsection, losing a 12-round split decision in Riyadh.
Fury Needs to Be At Klitschko Weight
For the rematch, the former WBC heavyweight champion Fury must come in a lot lighter than he has in many years to deal with the movement and fast pace that Usyk will be pushing. Fury weighed 247 lbs for his fight against Wladimir Klitschko in 2015, which he should be targeting for his rematch with Usyk.
That was the zenith of Fury’s 16-year career, and he should be attempting to get down to that weight again to deal with the speedy, agile 220+ lb Usyk.
Tyson does look like he’s lost some weight since the fight, but it’s questionable whether he can trim off enough to avoid getting battered and beaten by Usyk again.
From some of Usyk’s recent comments, he intends to knock out Fury this time and not let it go to the scorecards. In Usyk’s mind, he will duplicate what he did to Fury in the ninth round of their first fight but go after him immediately, knowing he can’t handle getting bombarded with combinations.
“Put a mask on and take a run. Going after just the little guys, huh?” said Oleksandr Usyk on social media, sending a message to Tyson Fury. “What’s up, my chubby buddy? I hope you are alright.”
Fury weighed 262 lbs, which isn’t a bad weight for him, but it looked like he’d lost muscle in back-to-back training camps that he’d had to trim down for that fight. He had his trunks pulled up high in what appeared to be a strategy to hide his chunky waist, but it was there to be seen. Fury couldn’t camouflage that he was out of shape.
“What’s up my chubby buddy?”
Oleksandr Usyk’s latest message to Tyson Fury…
🎥 @usykaa | #UsykFury2 | Dec 21 pic.twitter.com/ursOUGORo5
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) September 11, 2024
During the fight, Fury stayed with his back against the ropes, using them for support and getting worked over by the superior conditioned Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs).
Fury’s Resemblance to Larry Holmes
Watching Fury that night was like watching how former heavyweight champion Larry Holmes performed late in his career in his loss to Oliver McCall in 1995. Holmes was 45 years old for that fight and spent much of the contest leaning against the ropes to support his weary legs.
“He has a contract, and so do I until December 31st; we have to hold this fight up to and including [that date],” said Usyk to Ready to Fight about Tyson Fury having no choice but to go through with their contractual agreed rematch. “If he pulls out December 21st, he will lose all his money and dividends and won’t be a man of his word anymore.”
If Fury withdraws from his fight against Usyk, he’ll be out of luck. That puts pressure on Fury to make it through camp without postponing the fight with mysterious cuts like last time.
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